Sweet wickedness
This week is on Psalm 36:1-4:
These verses are thousands of years old, but they could apply to us today. King David, who knew all about being wicked, wrote them to share a message he felt God gave him about wickedness. What goes on in the head of an evil man or woman? How do they live like that in a world full of God's love and revelation?
The wicked start off with no fear of God. There's no acknowledgement of a higher power with a higher standard. There's no recognition that God's desires matter, or that pleasing him is of any worth. While they may believe in God, or even preach that he exists, the wicked man considers him irrelevant to his daily life. They don't ask "What does God think about this?" because they don't care what God thinks.
The wicked flatter themselves. In their own eyes, they are without flaws, or at least without the flaws that God would point out for change. Their thoughts are sycophants, toadies that constantly kiss up to them. Sometimes they surround themselves with groupies, like movie stars, so that they can maintain the illusion more easily. Oftentimes, they are all too aware of their faults, but don't want to see them, because seeing them would demand change. So they tell themselves nice things, or that their weaknesses are actually strengths.
The mouths of the wicked are deceitful. We've all heard of "spin," where public figures will not admit to faults if they can reframe them as something else. The wicked don't only lie to themselves through flattery. They lie to those around them. Why admit you have a problem and be forced to deal with it, when you can sell it as a strength ("greed is good") or just flat out bury it in half-truths?
In doing this, they've set themselves above those around them, deciding who deserves the truth, and attempting to define reality on their own terms. A wise man wants the people around him to know the truth. Truth produces growth. Truth brings humility. But the wicked man doesn't want any of those things. Truth is what stands between him and godhood. It's an obstacle to be demolished and reshaped in his quest for glory.
The wicked don't reject what is wrong. In their final, most depraved, phase, they plot evil all of the time. They don't take vacation from their self-worship and self-service. Every moment is spent thinking "How can I take what I want without being held accountable for my actions?" To admit something is wrong would be to admit that there's a higher authority with higher standards. It would be admitting to their own imperfection and mortality. "Right" is redefined to anything that produces results they like. "Wrong" is redefined to anything that produces results they don't like. To change course would be to admit that they haven't always been right, and that they can make mistakes.
The wicked are not all that different from us. We can't truly say "At least we're not like that!" when we are in many ways "like that." There are times when we commit to plans without knowing God's mind on the matter. There are times when we attempt to produce our own grace on ourselves, belittling the harmful effects of our decisions and exaggerating our strengths. Sometimes we change the subject or tell a lie when confronted on our behavior. Sometimes the truth hurts too much to want it near us. We'd rather pretend we're magnificent, holy, super spiritual beings.
The thing that keeps us from falling into full-time wickedness isn't our innate awesomeness. It's allowing God's input in our lives. It's realizing that we're not perfect. We admit when we're wrong, and try to improve our choices, even knowing that we'll still make other mistakes once we've fixed the ones we know about. There's more to life than our wants.
As Christians, we may not all be full-time wicked people, but sometimes we do wicked things. It's not the mistakes we've fixed or never made that gets us our connection with God. It's God's love for us despite our faults. Despite our wickedness, we are still sweet to him. A God like that should matter to us.
I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before their eyes.
In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin.
The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
they have ceased to be wise and to do good.
Even on their beds they plot evil;
they commit themselves to a sinful course
and do not reject what is wrong.
These verses are thousands of years old, but they could apply to us today. King David, who knew all about being wicked, wrote them to share a message he felt God gave him about wickedness. What goes on in the head of an evil man or woman? How do they live like that in a world full of God's love and revelation?
The wicked start off with no fear of God. There's no acknowledgement of a higher power with a higher standard. There's no recognition that God's desires matter, or that pleasing him is of any worth. While they may believe in God, or even preach that he exists, the wicked man considers him irrelevant to his daily life. They don't ask "What does God think about this?" because they don't care what God thinks.
The wicked flatter themselves. In their own eyes, they are without flaws, or at least without the flaws that God would point out for change. Their thoughts are sycophants, toadies that constantly kiss up to them. Sometimes they surround themselves with groupies, like movie stars, so that they can maintain the illusion more easily. Oftentimes, they are all too aware of their faults, but don't want to see them, because seeing them would demand change. So they tell themselves nice things, or that their weaknesses are actually strengths.
The mouths of the wicked are deceitful. We've all heard of "spin," where public figures will not admit to faults if they can reframe them as something else. The wicked don't only lie to themselves through flattery. They lie to those around them. Why admit you have a problem and be forced to deal with it, when you can sell it as a strength ("greed is good") or just flat out bury it in half-truths?
In doing this, they've set themselves above those around them, deciding who deserves the truth, and attempting to define reality on their own terms. A wise man wants the people around him to know the truth. Truth produces growth. Truth brings humility. But the wicked man doesn't want any of those things. Truth is what stands between him and godhood. It's an obstacle to be demolished and reshaped in his quest for glory.
The wicked don't reject what is wrong. In their final, most depraved, phase, they plot evil all of the time. They don't take vacation from their self-worship and self-service. Every moment is spent thinking "How can I take what I want without being held accountable for my actions?" To admit something is wrong would be to admit that there's a higher authority with higher standards. It would be admitting to their own imperfection and mortality. "Right" is redefined to anything that produces results they like. "Wrong" is redefined to anything that produces results they don't like. To change course would be to admit that they haven't always been right, and that they can make mistakes.
The wicked are not all that different from us. We can't truly say "At least we're not like that!" when we are in many ways "like that." There are times when we commit to plans without knowing God's mind on the matter. There are times when we attempt to produce our own grace on ourselves, belittling the harmful effects of our decisions and exaggerating our strengths. Sometimes we change the subject or tell a lie when confronted on our behavior. Sometimes the truth hurts too much to want it near us. We'd rather pretend we're magnificent, holy, super spiritual beings.
The thing that keeps us from falling into full-time wickedness isn't our innate awesomeness. It's allowing God's input in our lives. It's realizing that we're not perfect. We admit when we're wrong, and try to improve our choices, even knowing that we'll still make other mistakes once we've fixed the ones we know about. There's more to life than our wants.
As Christians, we may not all be full-time wicked people, but sometimes we do wicked things. It's not the mistakes we've fixed or never made that gets us our connection with God. It's God's love for us despite our faults. Despite our wickedness, we are still sweet to him. A God like that should matter to us.
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